CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government authorities are upset over the Sikh militants call to punches and sarpanches (elected village mayors) to relinquish offices by June 15.
The authorities do not know what to do in the face of the call because it is believed that the village representatives will respond overwhelmingly. One proposal is that the panchayat act should be amended to provide for disqualification of the resigning members for six years. The other idea is that resignation letters should not be disposed and that the situation should be watched,
The third suggestion under consideration is that the charge of Panchayats should be given to panchayat secretaries and the rural development work should be continued through village Lambardar under guidance of block development officers,
Whatever proposal is finally accepted by the Indian authorities, it is certain that pressure will be mounted on Panchayats through the police not to resign their seats.
The fact, however, is that most village representatives are already inclined to quit their posts mainly due to unending police harassment.
Meanwhile, the Panthic committee associated with Dr.Sohan Singh, Bhai Daljit Singh and others have started sending letters to all village panchayats advising them to resign their seats because the nature of the panchayats is “Brahamanic.” Most panchayats have started preparing to leave office,
They are finalizing accounts and other records. They are also trying (to finish time-bound works already under execution.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 22, 1992
